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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26288548">The Madman in the Basement</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ace_of_Stars/pseuds/Ace_of_Stars'>Ace_of_Stars</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Original Trilogy, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Gen, Human Disaster Anakin Skywalker, ehhhhh idk what else to put here I'll come back if I have ideas, sheev Palpatine deserves to die</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-04-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 07:48:09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,109</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26288548</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ace_of_Stars/pseuds/Ace_of_Stars</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Obi-Wan made a decision. He couldn't leave his brother here to burn. </p><p>He couldn't bear to lose anyone else.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Anakin Skywalker | Darth Vader &amp; Luke Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi &amp; Anakin Skywalker</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>34</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>65</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Prologue: The Planet of Fire</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=The+new+sw+canon+Discord">The new sw canon Discord</a>.</li>



    </ul></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Obi-Wan Kenobi had nothing. The Jedi Temple, his home, had been invaded. The Order and the only way of life he had ever known were in ruins. Friends and family had been slaughtered by once-loyal soldiers, forced to turn on their trusted leaders. There was nothing left for him, but this fiery hell of a planet and a twisted remnant of the man who had once been closer than a brother. </p><p><br/> Anakin -no, <em>Vader-, Anakin is gone, the man in front of you is not him</em>, glared up at him from atop a flimsy droid, just inches above a deadly river of lava. “You underestimate my power!”</p><p> He was wrong. Obi-Wan knew all too well the type of power his former student possessed, and the dark side had only made him stronger. Skill and discipline were Obi-Wan’s advantage, and they could overcome almost any amount of raw power. Ana-<em>Vader</em> was angry, his judgment was clouded, and that was the weakness Obi-Wan would exploit to win this fight. He ignored the voice in the back of his head, whispering that he didn't want to win, not with what he'd have to do. </p><p> “Don't try it.” Obi-Wan still wanted to protect Anakin, even though <em>Anakin is gone, Vader just looks like him, fights like him, even speaks like him, but he’s not Anakin. He can’t be. </em></p><p> He didn't listen. Anakin never does. As the Sith Lord that <em>can't be Anakin, because I would never hurt Anakin this way</em>, jumped, Obi wan performed a maneuver he had practiced a thousand times, a maneuver he would repeat in a thousand future nightmares.</p><p> His eyes were closed, it didn't matter. He could still feel his lightsaber mutilate the<br/> body that was still Anakin’s, even if Vader <em>can’t be Anakin, because I couldn't live with myself if he were Anakin</em>. He could still feel the burning pain coming through the force bond he still shared with <em>Vader, who massacred the Jedi. Anakin, who I loved</em>.</p><p> “You were my brother Anakin. I loved you.” <em>What have we done?</em></p><p> And as the monster-<em>Anakin</em> yelled that he hated him, then screamed even louder when the fires of Mustafar ate away at what little remained of his legs, Obi-Wan made a decision. He couldn't leave his brother here to burn. </p><p> He couldn't bear to lose anyone else. </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 1: The House in the Desert</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I love giving chapters different numbers to what ao3 says they are. It's so chaotic.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <hr/><p>
  <em>
    <span class="u">Thirteen years after Anakin Skywalker fell</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>The house had always called to Luke. He wasn't sure why, but whenever he was done with his work and didn't have plans with his friends, he felt this strange desire to jump on his speeder and race through the desert sands, heading towards that little hut on the horizon that beckoned him near. The home that belonged to Ben Kenobi. </p><p> The house felt sad. Luke couldn't really explain the feeling, except to say that there was this great sadness resting over it, ingrained in the very walls. It used to be angry, he thought, a long time ago. He could just about remember a great, all consuming rage exploding outwards from somewhere below him, like the anger of a caged animal trying to break free, but over time it had mostly faded away. There was a peace to the house, now, and the sadness had lessened, from all-consuming grief and loss, to an old scar that would never truly heal. </p><p> It was a strange place, that hut in the endless desert, showing emotions like a living being and calling to Luke as he dreamed of adventure among the sand and moisture vaporators. A younger Luke had decided that if he ever wanted to leave this middle-of-nowhere planet, to finally have the life he had always wanted, he would have to do it by uncovering the mysteries that lay within that strange home. So he took to exploring and investigating every inch of the place that Ben would let him. Which wasn't half as much as Luke would have liked. Old Ben sure liked his privacy. </p><p> He found the ship when he was nine. It was a beautiful, shining silver, shaped almost  like three droplets of precious water. It brought him visions, maybe even memories, of a journey through the stars. Ben told him it had belonged to his mother, before she died, and that it had brought Luke, as a baby, to Tatooine, from the very heart of the newly formed empire. Luke longed to fly away on that ship, to explore the galaxy, having adventures along the way. But not yet. He still had more to find. </p><p> Ben could show him everything, he could answer every question he had and more. Luke knew that, as clearly as he knew the house was sad and that he was pulled toward it. He could tell him about his parents; his dead mother and his father who couldn't see Luke yet, although no-one would ever tell him why, only to be patient, and that he would meet him eventually. Ben could explain those strange feelings Luke had; his pull toward the house and the emotions he felt in it (he knew for a fact that none of his friends could feel them), or those times when he inexplicably knew what was going to happen moments before it did. (That particular ability had saved his life on a few occasions). But Ben would never tell him why he was different, why he had these strange feelings and abilities, he'd just smile and tell him to trust in them, that he would learn what it all meant when he was ready. </p><p> Luke was tired of being patient, and he was as ready as he thought he would ever be. Ben was always around to stop him from finding out what he wanted, what he needed to know, giving vague, unsatisfying answers to his questions, and keeping him from the rooms in the house he was sure would give answers. But Ben wasn't here now. He was off in Mos Espa for a couple of days, for reasons Luke was too distracted to listen to, and Luke could finally search the house alone. </p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p> Luke crept through the hallways of the abandoned homestead. He felt as if he had to be quiet, despite the fact that there was no one around. He was shaking with nervousness, and wanted nothing more than to turn around and race home as fast as he could. But that ever-present feeling within him told him this was <em>right</em>, that there was a secret here he had to find. So he continued on, traveling deeper into the house. </p><p> He checked the ship room first, and was surprised to find it empty, the beautiful silver vessel missing from its place, leaving a wide, empty hangar behind it. It seemed Ben hadn't been travelling to Mos Espa after all. </p><p> He continued on into what could only be Ben Kenobi’s bedroom. It was sparsely decorated, the only things of note being a rather ornate carpet, and some kind of metal cylinder that Luke couldn't make head or tail of. It was just about the right size to fit comfortably in Luke's hand, in fact it seemed to have been made to be held that way, a weapon or a tool, perhaps? There were several buttons on the side, but Luke decided against pressing them, not wanting to accidentally damage anything. <br/> <br/> There didn't seem to be anything else worth investigating in the room, but Luke couldn't shake the feeling that he was missing something. A few sets of robes in the closet, a small lamp, a single bed, nothing seemed amiss. Luke's eyes were drawn back to the carpet. A piece like this seemed more suited to a royal palace than a plainly decorated home on Tatooine. Inspecting the carpet with its beautiful gold patterned swirls, Luke realised that the floor underneath wasn't exactly even. He pulled back the heavy rug with a grunt, revealing what seemed to be a trapdoor underneath. </p><p>The cover was huge, seemingly solid durasteel, and it should have been impossible for Luke to lift. Yet, as he strained against it, pulling so hard he felt his arms would tear under the pressure, some unknown strength came to him, and he managed to lift the circular cover and descend down a ladder into the depths of a secret basement below. He found himself in a dark corridor, which lit up at his movement as he walked excitedly down the corridor, barely able to keep from running towards the shiny durasteel door at the end of the tunnel. </p><p> There wasn't much to indicate that this was, in fact a door. No lock or handle, or detail of any kind, save for a small keypad on the wall beside it. It seemed to require a password. Four Basic letters. Great. What in the galaxy was he supposed to do now? He supposed he had to try something. No point coming all this way just to turn back now. He typed in L-U-K-E and, to his surprise, the door opened. </p><p> He found himself in a large, well-lit room. There was some kind of ray shield blocking off most of it, and what was beyond seemed to be decorated like an apartment. There was a sleeping area, a kitchen and some comfy chairs, giving the place a homey feel. Droid parts, tools, and black clothes (an odd choice, given the almost unbearably hot climate of Tatooine) were scattered everywhere, and there was an old, blue and white astromech droid with a rounded top, powered off in a corner. An R2 unit, Luke believed. </p><p> The things that really caught his eye, however, were the printed holos that covered the walls. They mostly showed the same group of people; a younger, happier Ben, what Luke thought was Togruta girl (he'd never seen one up close before), with bright orange skin and blue montrals, a beautiful woman with brown eyes and long, brown hair shaped into intricate styles, wearing some of the fanciest outfits Luke had ever seen, as well as another man, with light brown hair, blue eyes and a small scar just beside his left eye. A couple featured what Luke thought were Republic clone troopers, and a few, strangely enough, were of him. </p><p> The room was strangely devoid of the ever-present sand that permeated every building, ship and room in the desert, Luke didn't know how the inhabitant kept it that way. </p><p> Speaking of inhabitants, while Luke had originally thought the room to be empty, he now noticed a person fiddling with something in the back of the room, mostly obscured by the large chair he sat in. “Obi-Wan?” He called out, almost giving Luke a heart attack, “You're back early.” </p><p> “Ehh….. Hello?”</p><p> The man got out of his chair, and turned around. He was obviously the same man from the holos, although he was older, his hair had grown longer and he had grown a beard. His skin had the paleness of someone who didn't spend much time under the suns. </p><p> “You're not Obi-Wan.” He strode over towards the energy shield separating the two of them. </p><p> He placed his hand against the transparent,  humming barrier, “ Luke?”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hope you enjoyed!!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Interlude</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I’m back! It’s only been half a year, that’s a perfectly normal interval between updates.......</p><p>....sorry</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>There was only one person who understood why Obi-Wan hadn't left Anakin to burn. Yoda had given him a lecture on attachment, Bail had thought it was an unnecessary danger but Padmé; she had understood. Obi-Wan thought it gave the poor woman some comfort to know that her husband was still alive, even as she succumbed to the injury brought about by his own hand. As she breathed her last, lying upon that table with her children beside her and her unconscious husband sedated in the next room, Obi-Wan could feel her at peace. Despite everything, those she cared about most were alive and would be cared for. In times like these, that was as much as one could hope for. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> Obi-Wan insisted that he take Anakin with him. There had to be some way to help him, to bring his dear padawan back into the light. It was bordering on insane to keep Anakin alive after all he'd done, to think that there could ever be love, or even trust, between them again. But, despite the atrocities committed, despite the hundreds of lives lost and the millions more that would suffer because of Anakin's actions, the love Obi-Wan felt for his former student still shone bright as ever. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> The Jedi would have called this attachment, but the Jedi were gone now. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> Anakin was all he had left. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 2: The shadow underground</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>The last bit was a little short so I decided to give you a real chapter as well. I’m planning to alternate between chapters in the present and interludes in the past, so expect to see double updates quite often. (I say often, like a person who didn’t just abandon their fic for half a year and actually has a plan to make sure I don’t do that again). I’ll try my best. Hope you enjoy!!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span> “Luke? What are you doing here?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  
  <span>Luke </span>
  <span>wasn't sure how to respond. He had so many questions. How did this man know his name? Who was Obi-Wan? For that matter, who was the man standing in front of him? Why was he hiding in Ben’s basement? Why the holos? What was this strange feeling that led him here and why did it do so? </span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span> Every question he had ever asked about Ben and his strange house, all his queries about his path and every new mystery he had uncovered in his explorations echoed around his head</span>
  <span> each question begging to be asked, but his mouth seemed to have forgotten how to form the words for even one of them</span>
  <span>. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> He finally managed to stutter out, “W-who…. are you?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> The man looked a little surprised at the question, but eventually answered. He spoke slowly, seeming to consider each word before he said it, “Of course, you wouldn't know. My name is Anakin Skywalker and…… I'm your father.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> A million more questions flooded Luke's already overcrowded brain. The person who he'd been wondering about his life, longing to meet for as long as he could remember, his </span>
  <em>
    <span>father, </span>
  </em>
  <span>was standing right in front of him. Luke had anticipated this moment for years, but now that it had come, Luke could barely stutter out a word. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> He never even stopped to question whether the man in front of him was lying. </span>
  <span>He simply knew it was true. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> “Are you okay?” The man- his </span>
  <em>
    <span>father- </span>
  </em>
  <span>asked. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> “Yeah…. this is just…. a lot.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> Luke's father seemed confused, “Did Obi-Wan send you down here? You'd think he'd have at least talked to me first…” The last part was muttered under his breath, most likely meant for only himself. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> “Who’s Obi-Wan?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> Now his father looked really confused, “Obi-Wan Kenobi? The man who lives here? Grey hair, beard, still wears Jedi robes like an idiot even though it puts a huge target on his back?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> “You mean Ben Kenobi?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> “Um…yeah, I guess I do”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> “Wait, did you say </span>
  <em>
    <span>Jedi </span>
  </em>
  <span>robes?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> “Yeah, I guess you wouldn't recognise them, growing up in the Empire and all. And Tatooine isn't exactly the best place to find Jedi. Although we have three, well two and a half really, so that's probably quite a lot nowadays.” Luke’s father looked sad, no </span>
  <em>
    <span>felt </span>
  </em>
  <span>sad. Luke could somehow feel Anakin's grief almost as clearly as if it were his own. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> “Are you okay?” Luke asked. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> “Yeah, just, old memories. I assume Obi-Wan— er— </span>
  <em>
    <span>Ben </span>
  </em>
  <span>told you about the fall of the Order?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> “What order? And what did you say about there being three Jedi on Tatooine?” Luke didn't know much about the Jedi. He'd heard stories, of course, of beings that were almost gods, wielding legendary powers, through some mysterious ‘Force’ that granted them. It was said that a single Jedi could take down an entire army. The empire had destroyed them, calling them traitors. His few friends who had gone on to join the rebellion had seen them as martyrs and heroes. The stories were probably embellished, but Luke had always loved to dream. </span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span> “Force, Obi-Wan really didn't tell you anything, did he? I know he was against training you, but I never expected this.” Luke could somehow feel a rush of anger emanating from his father, like a miniature explosion that was quickly repressed, pushed down as quickly as it had risen to the surface. There was something darker there as well, something more than anger, that Luke couldn't quite describe. He felt as if he were facing a raging monster, and at the same time, as if he were living one of his greatest fantasies. For the first time since learning his father’s identity, Luke felt afraid. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> “Where do I start?” Luke’s thoughts were cut off as his father began to speak, the allure of answers leading him to ignore his apprehension, at least for now. “Do you at least know what a Jedi is?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> “Yeah.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> “That's a relief. Well, you've met two already. Obi-Wan and—” he paused, that strange, double-sided feeling rising around him again. He seemed to be considering something as he spoke. “And me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> “Wait Ben is a </span>
  <em>
    <span>Jedi? You're </span>
  </em>
  <span>a Jedi?” Luke couldn't quite believe what he was hearing, even as the very air around him seemed to sing with truth, “Then who’s the third?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> “You, or rather, you will be”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> “Me?! But I couldn't possibly be— ”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> “—Not yet,” Anakin cut him off, “But you will be, if you want to. You're my son after all.” There was a hint of pride in his voice. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> “You're starting to get as cryptic as old Ben”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> Luke’s father laughed, his joy filling the room, seeming to make the underground room just a little brighter. “Should I take that as a compliment? And don't ever let Obi-Wan hear you call him old. He'd have a fit.” In a perfect impression of Ben’s voice, “Excuse me? I am 51, young man.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> Luke smiled. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> “You're my son, and therefore you're force sensitive. That means you can be trained as a Jedi, if that's what you want. We'll have to wait for Obi-Wan to come back to train you, though.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> “Couldn't you……?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> Grief, guilt, and that strange sensation that was both alluring and repulsive. “No. You should probably leave now.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> “But-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>  “We can talk again later.” The sensation seemed to wrap around Luke's father in a twisted embrace, </span>
  <span>like a sand snake about to strangle its prey</span>
  <span>. “Luke,</span>
  <em>
    <span> go</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> Fear, guilt, </span>
  <em>
    <span>anger. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Luke could swear he saw a flash of yellow in his father's blue eyes. He turned around and left, closing the metal door behind him. As soon as he was out of his father’s gaze, he sprinted down the hallway and out of the house as fast as he could, only stopping to cover the entryways and lock the doors. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> The feeling seemed to follow him pulling him back towards his father, daring him to just </span>
  <em>
    <span>give in,</span>
  </em>
  <span> it's what he wanted after all. But in the end, Luke mounted his speeder and headed home; exhausted, afraid, and somehow with even more questions than before. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>We’re finally getting into some plot here.... I wasn’t kidding with the title of this fic (:</p><p>I hope you liked it!!</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Heyyyy this is my first fic on ao3, I hope ye guys like it so far. Feel free to give constructive criticism if u want, or not :)</p></blockquote></div></div>
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